Accused Arrested Within 24 Hours in Kathua Blind Murder Case: Police

Kathua, May 8: Jammu and Kashmir Police cracked a blind murder case within 24 hours, arresting the accused in Kathua on Friday.

In a statement to GNS, police said a report was received at PS Kathua on May 6 from a reliable source. It stated that brothers Nakul Singh (18) and Nikhil Singh (16), sons of the late Balbir Singh from Ward No. 10, Kathua, had been attacked with intent to kill. They were found critically injured in a pool of blood at their home.

Police registered FIR No. 230/2026 under Sections 103/109/333/115(2) BNS and launched an investigation. Both victims were rushed to GMC Kathua, where Nakul was declared brought dead. Nikhil’s condition was critical, so he was referred to AIIMS Vijaypur, Jammu, for advanced treatment. Nakul’s body was sent for postmortem.

A team led by SHO Kathua and DSP Headquarters swiftly secured the crime scene, called in the FSL, and initiated legal formalities. The scene inspection revealed that Nakul’s iPhone was missing. Relevant evidence was seized, and e-Sakshya proceedings followed as per law.

Investigators rounded up and questioned several suspects. CDR and technical analysis by the ESU team provided a key lead. Sustained interrogation of Parth Verma @ Sumit, son of Som Raj from Ward No. 9, Kathua, led to his confession. He disclosed the missing iPhone’s location before a magistrate, and it was recovered.

Parth revealed that on May 6 at around 10:40 a.m., he visited Nakul’s house. He used Nakul’s phone to call Mohit @ Bobby at 11:35 a.m. Between 12:40 p.m. and 12:50 p.m., an argument over a love interest escalated into a scuffle. Parth allegedly grabbed a cricket bat from the room and struck Nakul on the head, causing him to collapse.

Nikhil returned home shortly after and entered the house. Fearing exposure, Parth allegedly hit him multiple times on the head with the bat, leaving him unconscious. He fled with Nakul’s iPhone, leaving the bat at the scene. Around 5 p.m., their mother, Jyoti Devi, returned from work and found her sons in a pool of blood.

Further investigation is underway.